Five Times Cap's Shield got Used Unconventionally
by Red Tigress
Summary: ...one time it didn't, and how it was all connected. Movie-verse. Mostly Cap-centric, with healthy doses of the rest of the team. Rated for language and violence in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hello, me again. There's more serious stuff on the way, but I'm trying to get all this stuff edited and out before I see the movie at midnight on Thursday, so. Here you go!_

Steve Rogers was not allowed to participate in Avengers drinking contests.

It was completely unfair his metabolism basically canceled out his ability to get drunk, but Steve had never been much of a drinker anyway. He only did it now when everyone else was, and even though they all knew the alcohol didn't affect him, no one said anything.

However, he was never told when there was a drinking contest either. The other Avengers knew besides having an unfair advantage, Steve would shut down the party earlier than he needed to, all on account of them having to be ready to save the world at a moment's notice.

Or something.

These contests usually started when Tony, Thor, Natasha, and occasionally Clint were alone. Bruce didn't drink much either, on account of wanting to have full awareness to make up for any time he Hulked out.

But occasionally, after a bad mission, Steve would notice Bruce's absence, along with one of Tony's bottles of Glenlivet.

So when Steve was wandering the tower one night, unable to sleep, he was attracted by the loud noises coming from Tony's lab.

Thor was chuckling loudly at Clint's attempts to lift Mjolnir off the floor, Natasha was pouring shots, and Tony was wearing his shield, _his_ shield!

Steve entered, more than a little miffed. "Stark, what are you doing with that?"

Tony whirled around, eyes wide, as Clint stage-whispered "Shit, hide, it's Captain Hard Ass!" before falling to the floor in an ungraceful heap behind the hammer.

Natasha sniggered at his comment then sent an apologetic look Steve's way while Thor hit the surface of the table he was sitting at guffawing loudly.

"Nooooooooooothing," Tony drawled out, before he started whistling and dropped the shield on the floor next to Clint.

Steve sighed loudly. "Please don't take my things."

Tony stood stalk still with a dead serious look on his face. "I didn't this time. Clint did."

"Traitorrrrrrrrr," Clint moaned from the floor.

"Seriously, guys," Steve moved over to where Clint was continuing to moan on the floor in between Thor's hammer and his shield. "Please don't take-"

Clint gave a "_hurrk!"_ noise before scrambling up to his elbows, grabbing the shield, and puking in it.

"feel bet'r now," he mumbled.

Everyone stood motionless before Tony let out a snort and then Thor started laughing uproariously.

Steve trembled with a barely contained anger. "YOU are cleaning that out," he hissed at Stark before stomping out of the lab.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I figured I'd throw the second one up here too, cause the first one was so short. Easter egg for any Bluth fans._

Tony had washed his shield, as Clint had been too hungover to, but he didn't apologize. Not to Steve's face, anyway.

Steve had found his shield on his bed when he came back from his workout. He picked it up, inspecting it, nose crinkling at the slight smell of vomit that still remained on the leather straps. He'd have to oil them later.

He didn't get a chance to as "later" became "fighting two mutant twins trying to rob a bank".

Natasha, Thor and Hulk were on another mission, one that required a little more muscle with Natasha there to essentially command them. Steve envied her, as he'd rather have taken Thor and Hulk over bickering Tony and Clint. The entire quinjet ride over, he'd had to listen to both of them whine about why they had to take care of a bank robbery. Tony had already started going over his schedule for the next week, ignoring Steve and insulting Clint. Something about how he had drunkenly tried to set up an elaborate death trap with his bow the night before, and dry-fired it into his face.

Steve had stopped listening.

Now, Steve pulled himself out of the rubble he had been blasted into. One of the girls could do a sort of concussive sonic attack, which he had just felt the effects of, having not gotten his shield up in time. He caught sight of Clint across the street, and he could see the blood running from his ears as he fought to gain equilibrium. The other twin could scream. Within the first three minutes, she had cracked the protective cover over Tony's arc reactor, and made Clint look like he was suffering from an extreme case of vertigo when she hit him, unprotected, with her own sonic blast.

Iron Man raised a hand, firing a repulsor shot, but the girl on the left opened her mouth and Steve felt the sonic blast she released in his bones. It effectively cancelled out the repulsor shot, but Tony was already raising his other arm and firing at the other girl. Her twin turned her head to cancel that shot as well, but it was late enough it still clipped her. She fell down, and Tony started running in the suit towards them.

The girl on the ground let out a shriek that had Steve lowering his head in pain and he saw Clint take another fall to the ground. Tony paused, but then he must have switched off whatever let him hear through his helmet as he took another step forward. But the sonic blast girl had already aimed a strike at him while his focus was on her sister.

It was strange watching a fight he could only see half of. He saw Iron Man being forced back, trying to walk forward against some invisible force. He only lasted a moment before the clear covering in his chest shattered completely, and he was flying backwards.

"Tony!" Steve was on his feet again, as was Clint across the street, still wobbly as he tried to aim an arrow. The arrow missed completely, but turns out it didn't really need to hit them. It exploded, sending both girls through the glass windows of the bank screaming in a way that didn't have anything to do with their powers. Steve ran over to Tony first. The area around his chest plate was cracked, but the arc reactor was still glowing.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked.

"What?" Tony asked popping the faceplate open. "Sorry, I turned off the external mics."

Steve couldn't help the eye roll he gave to hide his relief at seeing Tony relatively well and able to speak. "You're okay then?"

"Yeah, yeah," Tony waved a hand getting up. "This is going to be a bitch to repair, and I can't take any more shots to the chest today, but I myself am fine. Better go check on Lucille Two over there."

Steve hurried over to Clint. "Cover us!" he shouted back to Tony, who closed his faceplate and said a mock "Aaaaaaffirmative!" into his comms. He raised his repulsors, aiming them at the bank.

Clint was on one knee, leaning completely on his bow. "You're sitting the rest of this one out," Steve told him, hooking one arm under the archer's and helping steady him.

"What? No coach, lemme in," he slurred.

Steve fought the urge not to roll his eyes again. "Sorry, it's the bench for you."

"Awww…" Clint mumbled, eyes closed and swallowing thickly. Steve hoped between the vertigo and the hangover he wouldn't throw up again.

"Cap, incoming," Tony's voice warned.

Steve looked up to see the sisters, covered in small cuts from the glass, climbing back out the bank windows unsteadily. They caught sight of Iron Man first, the whine of his repulsors and bright suit hard to miss.

"Cap, Cap! Toss me your shield!" Steve didn't hesitate, letting go of Clint for a moment who gulped loudly beside him and throwing the shield to Iron Man.

Tony caught it, before ripping out the leather straps. He turned it around, concave side facing out just as the two girls both unleashed a sonic scream and a boom right at him.

He was pushed back a little, but almost immediately after, the girls were knocked off their feet and Steve could see a bit of blood dripping from their ears.

Iron Man clumsily tossed the shield back to Steve, who caught it deftly before helping Clint up again.

Tony walked over to them, face plate opening and the man grinning cheekily. "Welp, as they are neither supersoldiers nor armored geniuses, I'd say they're down for the count and it's safe to call in the containment unit." He looked back towards the destroyed bank. "Ick. Sound waves. Although…"Tony looked upwards, abruptly lost in a thought process.

Steve looked sullenly at the scraps of leather hanging from his shield. "Did you have to rip these out? This takes like…three days to repair."

"It wouldn't have had the same dish effect if I hadn't." Tony made a sweeping motion with one arm. "Very handy, that."

Steve smiled. "So I've noticed."

Sirens grew louder as emergency crews and SHIELD declared the threat incapacitated and drew closer. Barton whined almost at the same pitch as the siren.

Tony looked down as if just remembering Barton was there. "Guess we better get him checked out. I don't want to have to clean out another puke-filled shield."

"Asshole," Barton muttered.

Steve smiled, helping Clint over to the nearest ambulance.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: WAAAAH I SAW THE AVENGERS LAST NIGHT AT MIDNIGHT. So I wrote this before I saw the movie so…ignore discrepancies, please._

Steve had been reading in the quiet of his own room, one of the few places in the tower that afforded silence. His head snapped up immediately when he heard a scream, followed immediately by water raining down from the ceiling.

He just sat there for a moment, on his quickly dampening sheets, before he grabbed his shield from where it rested against the wall, covering his head like an umbrella. It made a light tinkling noise as the water hit it and he went out into the hallway.

Natasha stormed out of her room across from him at the same time. Her eyes were livid. "Fucking Stark!" She spat.

Steve bit his lip to cover a smile. She looked like a drowned, angry rat. Although he'd never say anything like that out loud. Of course he wouldn't.

"Let's try and find out what's going on," he said instead. She whirled, growling, and together they walked toward the lab, the sprinklers in the ceiling raining all the way.

"Uh, Jarvis," Steve asked hesitantly, still not completely comfortable with the idea of speaking with the A.I. "Could you turn off the sprinklers?"

"I am sorry, Captain Rogers, the sprinkler system is a city-instituted system to comply with building code, and thus I have no access to it."

"Oh, uh, okay. Is there a fire?"

"Not anymore," Jarvis answered cryptically.

They reached Tony's lab to find the place covered in some sort of foam, instead of water. Bruce and Tony were covered in it as well, Tony wearing welding gear and cursing loudly, Bruce trying to cover up his experiments from the foam leaking from the ceiling.

Natasha surged forward, lethal intent in her eyes, but Steve put out one arm to hold her back.

Bruce looked up and saw them just as Tony shouted "Jarvis, hack that system NOW!"

"Nice of you to join us," Bruce said dryly. Steve came cautiously in, still holding his shield over his head. Natasha stayed in the hallway, preferring to be wet then covered in anti-dousing chemical foam.

"What happened?"

Bruce sighed, looking back towards Tony. "Suit repairs happened."

Steve looked back in confusion towards Tony, who was yelling as he and Dum-e pulled panels off walls with crowbars. "I don't understand," Steve said hesitantly. "He repairs his suits all the time, he's never set off the fire alarms before."

Bruce raised his voice a little in order to be heard over the shouts of "FUCKING COCK-SUCKING WALL, JARVIS WHY DON'T YOU OWN THIS BUILDING YET?"

"He was welding some sort of…vibranium substitute. Working on some sort of…speaker, if I understood right." Bruce shrugged, flipping some of the foam out of his hair. "In any case, the stuff doesn't react well to open flame. Which I could have told him, but I didn't know what he was doing until the smell hit me, and then the foam."

They heard the sound of metal hitting metal with Tony's angry grunts from behind them but no one turned around. But above them there was a sizzle and the foam stopped. Steve took the shield down from over his head giving it a few heavy flicks to get more water off.

Bruce continued their conversation, nonplussed. "Anyway, your shield is the largest source of vibranium in the world, so I don't think whatever he's doing will work…unless he can find a suitable substitute which he most definitely has not."

"I heard that, Banner! And I take that as a personal affront and challenge!"

"Yeah, okay," Steve interjected. "Tony, I know it's your house but you owe us all new sheets."

"And new computers," Banner added.

"And new guns!" Natasha shouted from the hallway.

Tony walked back over to them looking more than a little annoyed. "Jarvis, order all that stuff."

"_It shall be my next priority, Sir. Unless of course you would like me to repair some of the hardware in the household damaged by water first."_

"What? Oh, yeah, do that. Who programmed you to be such a smartass?"

"_No one I can conceivably think of, Sir. I imagine you'll have to keep an eye on me before I decide to take over a satellite and make an army of killing machines."_

Bruce gave Tony an alarmed look, while Tony just snickered. "Jarvis, I told you not to make evil robot references in front of the guests."

"_My apologies, Sir, consider my tasteless jokes deleted. In the future I will try not to offend you delicate human sensibilities."_

Steve just looked at them strangely, feeling a little lost as Bruce led him out so they could go find towels and maybe salvage the coffee maker in the kitchen. "We'll have a movie night about it when this has all died down, I'm sure."


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Again, written before I saw the movie so sorry for discrepancies, yadda yadda..._

Replacement bedding had arrived within a few hours, and luckily the sprinklers hadn't been on long enough that the furniture was permanently damaged. Though they did have to get a new tv and microwave.

Also, Tony had hacked the sprinkler system pretty quickly and easily once he got his computers up and his laboratory clean of fire-retardant foam. Now the sprinklers were allowed to go off only with his "express permission". God help them if there was a real fire.

And knowing Tony, there would be.

Steve put it out of his mind for now. He instead took advantage of the free time he now had to do some paperwork. He and Banner were probably the only ones that did it. Even though Banner couldn't remember the full extent of the missions, he tried anyway, but his reports were very short. Tony, Thor and Clint never did them, and Natasha only filled hers out with the basics, leaving most things out because she felt that they were a strictly need to know basis and she didn't trust files, paper or electronic, not to get hacked.

Mostly by Tony.

So Steve was pretty sure his mission reports were the only things from any of the Avengers that Fury had to read. Not that he did, he usually just yelled at some poor lower-ranking agent to read it to him on the way to the next assignment.

He gave a small, involuntary startle at the sound of Jarvis' voice overheard.

"_Captain Rogers, Mr. Stark requests your presence in his laboratory. He would like you to bring your shield as well."_

"Right now?" Steve rubbed his hand over his face.

"_He says it is a matter of life and death, but considering he's currently playing solitaire while he waits, I would not take him at his word."_

Steve allowed himself a small smile. Of course Jarvis would make sarcastic comments behind Tony's back. Because that's what Tony would do.

"Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes."

When Steve entered the lab, he suddenly wasn't sure why he had agreed to this. At least Tony wasn't having a drinking contest or anything. "What do you need this for?" He asked skeptically.

"I'm not gonna puke in it, if that's what you mean," Tony glared. "I just wanna _borrow_ it. Study its properties. I won't chip the paint, I promise." He gave a hopeful grin, and Steve put it on the table reluctantly, as he eyed some of the tools Tony had spread out on the work bench.

"So what are you working on?" Steve asked.

Tony swiveled around in his chair, taking the shield off the table and rapping on it with his knuckles. "Well, I know vibranium can absorb impact, I'm not interested in that right now. More interested in how it conducts sound, after our little run-in with Tweedle Screech and Tweedle Hum." At Steve's raised eyebrow, Tony gave a dramatic eye roll. "I won't _hurt_ it, I promise. Barring unforeseen villainous attacks, I should have it back to you in….four days."

"What?"

"Fine, three. But only because for whatever reason Manhattan is a hotspot for super criminal activity. Thank you, move along now." Tony grinned widely and waved his hands in a "Shoo-ing" motion. Steve sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument.

He supposed he trusted Tony enough not to do any _permanent_ damage to his shield.

On his way back up the stairs, he passed Clint on his way down.

"How are you feeling?" Steve asked. It was the first time he had seen the archer in the day and a half since they fought the Sonic Sisters as Tony had dubbed them.

Clint shrugged. "Bit of a headache, but otherwise A-okay. Cleared for duty." He had his bow and quiver in his hand.

Steve smiled. "Good, glad to hear it. What are you going to do with those?"

Clint shrugged again. "Stark said we wanted to test some arrowheads he had made. Sonic-thinga-mawhatsits."

"Well, when I guess he's on a roll there's no stopping him." He gave Clint a little wave and continued up the stairs.

He had just gotten back to his room when he was startled again by Jarvis' voice coming down from the ceiling. _"Captain Rogers,"_

"Jeez, Jarvis, what-"

The A.I. rudely cut him off. _"Mr. Stark is being attacked in the laboratory."_

Steve thought he could hear a note of _panic_ in Jarvis' voice, and his heart leapt into his throat. He sprinted back towards the stairs and down them. When he reached the glass doors, he froze. Clint was in front of the door with his shield in one hand, bow in the other. The other man stood there frozen as well, before the door opened of its own accord.

"Clint,"

"He's possessed! Or…something!" Steve glanced in the direction of Tony's voice, swallowing thickly as he saw the arrow protruding from his shoulder. The man was pinned to the wall, while his robot, Dum-e, stood protectively in front of him, whirring madly.

Steve didn't have much more time to contemplate the situation as Clint lunged at him with his own shield. He dodged, gripping the edges, and using his own strength to swing Clint around. The archer wasn't able to hold on and went flying into a nearby table with a crash, groaning.

Steve ran over to Tony, and Dum-e let him pass. Tony's face was lined with pain as Steve grabbed a pair of pliers from a nearby table. "What happened?" He asked, glancing back at Clint.

"I dunno," Tony gritted out. "One minute, we were talking…ow, hey, watch it," Steve was trying to snap the shaft of the arrow off so he could pull Tony off it. "Next minute, he saw the shield on the table behind me and…he just froze…it was like he was in a trance-Christ!"

"Sorry," Steve said, throwing the pliers and the broken shaft on the ground.

"Then he shot me and tried to make a break for it. And now we're here. Fuck, this hurts a lot more than I thought it would. Cause usually, when you think bow and arrow, you think-"

"Quiet for a second," Steve interrupted. Tony was babbling again, probably due to fear and pain. Steve glanced over his shoulder. "Dum-e, let us know if he gets up," Steve told the robot. It clicked what Steve supposed was an affirmative response. He turned his attention back to Tony. "I'm going to pull you off okay?"

Tony's eyes widened. "What?"

"Come on, you knew this would have to happen."

"I was just gonna carve myself out, thanks. It's not like I haven't YEEEEOW! Fuck, Rogers!" Steve had taken the opportunity while Tony was talking to give the smaller man a quick yank off the rest of the shaft, and now Tony was holding one hand over his shoulder breathing harshly and glaring daggers at Steve.

Steve didn't get a chance to apologize, because behind him, Dum-e started making very agitated noises and Steve whirled around to see Clint pulling himself up and taking an arrow off his back.

Steve turned his shield star-side down and slid it across the floor. He couldn't hit Clint in the head with it, for risk of breaking his neck. But fortunately, Clint took a step forward, into the shield, and his feet slide right out from underneath him.

He moaned as his head hit the floor and Steve winced, running over. Clint was dazed, but he rolled slightly. Steve grabbed some duct tape off the floor and tied his wrists behind him.

"You better get him to medical," Tony grunted from across the room.

"You're coming too," Steve said.

"What? I don't need to; this is just a tiny little hole."

"There's still blood running down your back."

"What? Shit, this shirt was Dolce and Gabbana. When he wakes up, possession or no, tell him he's paying for it," Tony growled, moving over to them. Dum-e cooed worriedly at his side and he tried to gently brush off the robot. "It's fine. Don't you have work to do? Buzz off, I'm fine."

"We're going to the infirmary, all of us," Steve found himself explaining to the robot.

Tony snickered, then winced in pain.

"Let's just go," Steve grumbled.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, faves, and alerts! It's made me wanna work extra fast on these. Hopefully I'll have this story done by the end of the week, and an update on Backup in the next few days, but we'll see. I'm seeing Avengers for the 3rd time tomorrow night. Also, I started writing this before I had a full plot in mind, so when it came for some mind-control action...Clint was honestly the most convenient choice. I don't mean to mind control him all the time in all my fics, it just sort of...worked out that way...I SWEAR._

"We really have to stop meeting like this," Tony spoke through the glass to Clint who was sitting at a table rubbing his face.

"That's not really funny," Steve whispered. Bruce just raised his eyebrows at him.

"Believe me, this isn't fun for me either," Clint grumbled from the containment room on the helicarrier.

They had hauled him into a quinjet while he was unconscious and set him up in the small room while they waited for Fury to get back from…whatever government leader he was intimidating. Tony had his arm in a sling, shoulder bandaged, and a bottle of vicodin in his pocket. Steve had made a mental note to hide his alcohol when they got back to the tower. Tony wasn't trying to harm himself or anything, but sometimes he honestly forgot he was on pain killers. It made Steve wonder how Pepper had done it.

Bruce was holding one of the SHIELD tablets in his hands as he and Tony looked over the footage from their fight against the Sonic Sisters the other day. "Right there," Bruce said, pointing to a window that had a grainy shot from a security camera pointing out of the bank and to a café across the street. Clint stumbled in the foreground, and they caught sight of a shadowy figure a little ways behind him.

"Seriously, I feel fine now. Can I please go get a sandwich or something?" Steve gave a sympathetic look towards the archer. It was obvious he was uncomfortable, and he didn't like being taken advantage of in any way, especially mind manipulation which…seemed to happen a lot. It was obvious he was feeling guilty and uncomfortable, looking anywhere but the window, drumming his fingers madly on the metal table top.

Tony looked up, peering through the glass. "I don't think so." He leaned forward to where Steve had left his shield leaning against the wall out of sight of Barton. Tony had made Steve bring it, after he guessed something about the incident. Tony held it up in the window, and Clint caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye. His movements stilled, and he turned his full attention on the shield, not blinking, not talking.

"Eerie," Bruce said quietly.

Tony lowered the shield out of view, and Clint blinked a few times, shaking his head. "What-"

Tony quickly brought the shield up, and Clint cut himself off, returning immediately to the look of a hunting dog focused on its prey. His eyes followed the shield as Tony lowered it again, before Clint blinked, and looked angry.

"Hey, you-"

Tony whipped it up, giggling this time, and Clint reverted back into a hypnosis-like state.

"That's enough, Tony." Steve said. "You're…going to cause brain damage or…something."

Tony pulled the shield out of view, giggling again. "Well, obviously we've figured out there's some sort of subliminal messaging going on in regards to your shield. I don't think those mutants were intending to rob that bank." Inside the room, Clint sputtered, and Tony brought the shield into view again, stilling him. "Given their abilities, I think we can argue a case for a third person being there, the person from the video, who had intended to get the shield for themselves. When we proved a little too hot to handle…" Tony moved the shield out of view, and Barton blinked sluggishly before he stormed over to the window and banged angrily on it. "…he implanted a subliminal message using some kind of sound waves instead in our good friend Barton here."

Tony was about to lift the shield up again, but Steve snatched it out of his hands, keeping it out of view.

Tony looked a little put off, but continued. "I have Jarvis downloading the data I recorded with the suit from that day into the lab downstairs. He should be done by now, we can go analyze it." Tony nodded to Bruce.

"What about Clint?" Steve asked.

Tony and Bruce turned back, regarding the archer who was snarling through the window at Tony now. "He should be okay to go, as long as you keep the shield out of sight. And I'd probably send him below deck, where the SHIELD psych guys can undo some of that damage." Tony waved vaguely.

"He wasn't really there long enough to have any lasting effects. I'm sure in the next day or so it'll begin to wear off on its own," Bruce explained, trying to pacify Steve. "But to be on the _safe_ side," he shot a look at Tony. "I would send him downstairs."

Tony shrugged.

"Um…okay…" Steve said, still a little lost. Bruce and Tony continued down the hallway, and Steve took the shield and hid it behind the door. "Okay, Clint, don't look…over here…" Steve waved vaguely to the door. "When you come out."

Clint huffed. "I don't _enjoy_ this, you know," he snapped.

"I know," Steve said, opening the door. Clint came out, glaring. "And I promise, you can get back at Stark later. But for now, let's go downstairs."

"Sounds good," Clint mumbled.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Hey everyone! I'm so sorry this took so long, I had my summer job, then I got accepted into video game school. It sucks up a lot of time. But I just wanted to thank you all for sticking with me, and to let you know, I actually have a lot of things I'm working on. Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews and the faves, I read every single one._

An hour later, and Clint was showing a significantly diminished response to the shield. Steve had reluctantly handed it over to the psych guys, anxiously watching the archer. The last thing he needed was another mind control situation like they had had with Loki. But for his part, Clint seemed to be keeping his emotions in check. Perhaps because Natasha had finally arrived.

She hadn't said anything, just sidled up to Steve watching the archer from the doorway. Steve saw a bit of the tension leave Barton's shoulders as the SHIELD agents asked a few more casual questions which Clint answered succinctly. When he finally showed he could maintain sarcastic responses when they held the shield in view, he was deemed free to leave.

As the three of them headed back towards the quinjet, and hopefully Stark Tower again, Clint casted a few nervous glances over his shoulder. Natasha spoke without looking at him. "If they say you're clear, you're clear."

Clint gave an amused grunt. "Maybe they're just used to me being compromised."

"No one even suggested that, Clint. You're fine now." Steve tried to sound reassuring, but his tone ended up being more bitter than he had intended. Both assassins didn't miss it and they eyed him warily.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cap," Clint mumbled under his breath.

Steve sighed. "Clint, you can't keep feeling sorry for yourself. Weird stuff happens to us all the time. I'm sorry about what happened, and that it wasn't the first time, but we handled it. You're fine, Tony's fine…and if we fight those gals again, we'll just wear earplugs. Okay?" He tried to give a small grin.

Clint didn't return it, only looking stoically ahead and refusing to meet either his or Natasha's gaze. She glanced at Steve with a look he couldn't really read, but still made him feel instantly guilty. Clint gave another mutter, "Let's just go home."

_**AV~AV~AV~AV**_

When they returned to Stark Tower, they were greeted at the elevator by an irate Thor. The doors opened and Steve almost flinched at the Asgardian's face glaring inches from his. "You did not tell me Barton was injured," he growled. Clint shouldered past him, and Steve couldn't help the sigh that escaped him.

"Sorry, Thor. It was pretty pressing at the time. He's fine." He inclined his head slightly, and Thor took a step back, allowing him and Natasha out.

Thor turned, looking at Barton's retreating back, before turning back to Steve, who could see the frustration plain on the Asgardian's face. "I know I may not be knowledgeable in such matters, but I would still like to be involved in my companions' well-being."

Steve winced. Bruce must have told him what was going on. He doubted anyone else would have. Thor might still be a stranger in a strange land, but he was awfully perceptive. "It was sort of a sensitive issue at the time," Steve said quietly. Clint was already out of sight, Natasha trailing at his heels.

Thor's face softened. "I understand." He turned back to Steve. "But please, henceforth, let me know when there are things I can do to assist."

"You can assist us, MC Hammer." Steve turned his head and saw Bruce and Tony, the latter with a tablet in his arms walking their direction. Tony swiveled, looking off in the direction the assassin's had gone, before turning back towards Thor and Steve. "How's the bird?"

"He'll be alright." Steve replied. Bruce looked like he was about to say something before Tony cut in.

"Good, cause we're gonna need everyone's help on this. Well, probably not everyone, but I have a feeling Purple Rain's ready to shoot something."

"Do you ever call anyone by their real names?" Bruce asked, amused.

"Not usually, Jolly Green." Bruce massaged his temple and Tony plowed on. Steve was completely lost. "This guy," Tony said, handing the tablet to Steve. Steve took it, and a grouchy-looking man appeared on it, along with a few short paragraphs. "Ulysses Klaw. Physicist. Got deported from Wakanda after trying to break into their vibranium mines. Mines which they are highly protective and secretive of." Tony rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So, with our African friends trying to kill him, he went to the next largest source. Hmm, what could that be?"

"My shie-"

"Your shield!" Tony threw his arms in the air, interrupting him.

Steve peered at the tablet again, trying not to show his irritation. "How do you know it's this guy?"

"Hmm, strong hard-on for vibranium, penchant for sound attacks?

"Tony…"

"What, Bruce? We're all adults here."

"So," Steve interrupted, and he could feel his ears growing red. "Why do you think it's Klaw?"

"Because about a month ago he rented a warehouse under a known alias. A warehouse in Jersey. Also, SHIELD identified the Sound Blaster twins, who were reported missing from their home in Long Island at about the same time."

"I do not understand," Thor interjected. "Your shield possesses great power, but-"

"Basically the things we saw the sound twins from hell do? He'd be able to manufacture that kind of ability on a large scale, and make it a dozen times more powerful," Bruce said.

"And we already know he has a somewhat evil track record," allowed Tony.

"Then we have no time to lose," Thor said seriously.

Steve nodded in agreement. "Suit up. I'll get the others."

_**AV~AV~AV~AV**_

They agreed Bruce would stay in the quinjet unless they needed backup. Hulk's wild swings could easily damage the structural integrity of the warehouse, bringing it down on all their heads. As Clint lowered the quinjet towards the ground, Steve stood up. "Okay, here's the plan. Barton and Romanoff will-"

The jet lurched to the side with a sickening screech of metal forcibly tearing from its seams, and Steve grabbed the safety netting above him. He could hear Clint struggling with the throttle as sirens blared. Natasha was keeping her cool, but her face was pale as she pounded buttons on the dash. Bruce gripped the arm rest of his chair tightly, and Steve hoped he was imagining the faint green tinge to his skin. Thor and Stark were both on their feet, ready for battle, though trying to compensate for the wild pitching of the quinjet.

"Stark! Thor! " Steve shouted, trying to regain his footing.

"On it," Tony growled, punching the release for the bay doors. A blast of wind howled through the bulkhead, and both men took off.

"Barton!" Steve shouted, casting another worried glance at Bruce. Banner met his eyes, giving him a weak smile, before lowering his head and tensing every muscle in his body as the jet rolled about 45 degrees to is port side. Steve's feet left the floor briefly, before he was tossed back into the seats, his hand coming free of the safety netting.

"I can land it, but you're gonna have to shut up for a second, Cap!"

"I told you to buckle up, Cap," Natasha called. Steve winced, taking the shield off his back and grabbing the safety netting again.

"And here I thought Stark was the funny one!"

As soon as he said it, Steve saw a flash of red and gold hit the nose of the ship, making it dive sharply before it bounced away. Clint maintained altitude, lowering the bruised vehicle closer to the ground. Not far now. "Stark!"

"Ugh, fine. Banner, did we know this guy had a gun for an arm? Why didn't we know this guy had a gun for an arm?" Tony's irritated voice sounded over their comms.

"It's Klaw?" Natasha asked, unbuckling her harness as the jet slowed and Clint guided it to a bit of a bumpy landing. It gave a final lurch, before Steve was running out the bay door, Natasha close behind him.

"YES, it's Klaw! You didn't think he was going to sit in an abandoned warehouse and WAIT for us to come in, did you?"

"Sometimes they do," Clint muttered over the comms.

Steve looked up, and sure enough, Klaw was perched some scaffolding surrounding the top of the building, aiming his gun. Steve's eyes widened.

"Clint, get Banner out of there!" Natasha dove to the side behind some shipping crates as Steve brought up his shield. But the gun wasn't a bullet or a laser. There was a _thwump_ noise, and then it felt like the air was being displaced around him. There was a brief moment of silence before Steve was flying backwards through the air. He grunted as he landed on his back and slid a few more feet over the asphalt, but looking up he saw Clint and Bruce moving behind the same crate Natasha had dove behind a moment earlier.

A few seconds later, Clint and Natasha were running to another crate.

"We're going green," Natasha reported.

Well. Steve couldn't say he was exactly sorry. "Thor, Stark, get ready to fall back. If Hulk wants his shot, let him take it."

"Not before I get in a few shots," Stark grumbled. Steve saw him blast towards Klaw at the same time Clint cursed.

"Barton?"

"We're surrounded!"

Steve had just enough time to see at least two men in black, each holding what looked like larger versions of the things on Klaw's arm, before he was assaulted with a screech that had him falling to his knees and clutching his head. It felt like his skull was being slowly pulled apart. He briefly opened his eyes, noting Thor falling heavily to the ground, clutching his own head. There was a savage roar and Steve craned his head around, seeing Hulk swinging wildly, and blindly, shattering shipping crates like wood.

"Stark," he ground out.

Iron Man didn't have to be told twice. He swiveled in the air, and Steve saw the plating on his forearms lift up, as he aimed it at several figures standing on the fringes of the shipping yard. But Klaw had brought his gun to bear, and before he could shot out a warning, Stark went careening sideways, before righting himself, and hovering, staring at his arms strangely.

"Do you know what sound waves do to metal, Stark?" Klaw shouted. Steve could barely hear him over the sound of Hulk roaring. He briefly saw an arrow fly through the air before landing in one of the men's chest. The pressure on Steve's head eased somewhat, and he began t struggle to his feet. "It vibrates. Given enough speed…it heats up."

Steve could hear Stark panting over the comms, in what he was sure was the start of a panic. Gunshots rang out, and Steve saw another of the goons drop, lessening the pressure. "Barton, Romanoff, keep it up," Steve praised them. In answer, another arrow found its place in a man's chest.

"I can't get an angle on Klaw," Clint ground out. "He's-" Clint cut himself off as an anguish cry from Stark came over the comms.

Steve stumbled over to him where he was twisting on the ground. He had gotten one gauntlet off, and Steve tried to grab the other one, instantly recoiling as hot metal burned him. "Thor, help!" If they didn't act now, Stark was going to be cooked alive. He dimly noted Hulk roar, jumping to the top of a row of shipping crates, Hawkeye riding on his shoulder, firing arrows as he did so.

The god stumbled over, and Steve jammed his shield into the joints of Stark's elbow, trying to pry the metal apart. "No, no…" Stark gasped, voice strained. "Keep…doing that…" Thor grabbed the facemask, hissing as he did so before prying it off and flinging it away. Stark's face was soaked in sweat, and he gave a pained grimace. "The…the shield…absorbs…"

"Vibrations," Steve said, placing the shield face down on Stark's chest. "Go!" he shouted at Thor. Tony was still grimacing, but Steve could dimly hear a low ringing noise as the vibranium absorbed the excess energy from the suit, and negated it. Any other time Steve might have felt self-conscious about holding his shield over his teammate's chest in the middle of a battle, but Tony's face was still flushed and he was breathing painfully through his teeth.

The other man met his eyes, and tried to give him a smile which came out as more of a grimace. "Getting…better…" he assured him. Something impacted Steve's back and he pitched forward, maintaining his grip on the shield. Tony sat up with a groan, reaching his still-gloved hand behind Steve and firing a repulsor blast. Steve heard a cry out from behind him as Tony sagged forward, wincing and breathing hard. "That..hurt a bit," he breathed.

Steve pushed his shield into Tony's arms who grasped it flimsily. "Stay here!" Steve was up and running towards Natasha, who was crouching behind a shipping crate. Blood was flowing out of her ears, and he doubted he didn't look much different. She slapped a pistol into his hand. He hefted it once before gripping it, the weight unusual but not unfamiliar in his hand. "How's Stark?"

"He'll be fine, I think." He glanced up, noting Tony had crawled to cover and still had his shield. He gazed around taking stock of the situation. One of the cronies Hulk and Hawkeye had gone after raised his blast gun, knocking Hawkeye away. He felt Natasha tense beside him, and Hulk roared, slapping the offender about 40 feet away. "Hawkeye!"

"I…uh, I'm fine," Natasha shared a glance with him, and she could tell she was trying to hide the concern on her face.

Thor was making more progress than Hulk. He was up on the scaffolding with Klaw now. Thor was dodging the blasts, but as soon as he got close, Klaw aimed his gun behind him. Thor looked confused for a moment before turning. As he did, Klaw swung himself over the railing.

Steve realized what had happened immediately. He wasn't sure how many functions Klaw's gun had, but it seemed to have enough to throw them for a loop. "Thor, it's a trick! He's making sounds that aren't there! He's trying to keep you at a distance!" Thor growled in frustration, leaping down after Klaw. Steve grimaced as he saw Thor take another hit to the back from one of the men surrounding them, and he fired at the offender. He saw the man clutch his shoulder, before ducking out of his line of sight. Natasha scooted to the other side of the crate, took aim, and dropped him a second later. Steve tossed his gun away in frustration. "Stark, I need my shield, are you-"

"Good, Cap, I'm good." It was a total lie, if his breathless answer was any indication. But a moment later, his shield clattered to the asphalt a few feet away from him. He moved, snatching it up, running behind the Hulk who was lumbering at top speed towards Klaw. Klaw looked nervous for a second, before bringing his arm up to bear, firing another sound wave. The Hulk slowed for a moment, before roaring so loudly Steve felt the ground shake under his feet. He didn't slow down as he neared the quivering green mass, who was pounding the ground in frustration and pain. Steve launched himself from the ground, running up Hulk's curved spine, before he dove from the top of the monster, his shield before him.

He landed on top of Klaw's chest, felt it give, heard the sickening crunch of both metal and bone as his gun arm was caught underneath him. The man underneath him screamed, and Steve silenced him with a blow to the head from his shield. Hulk grunted appreciatively, sitting down hard. Thor came up then, followed slowly by Stark, and then Natasha clutching a somewhat wobbly Barton.

"Is he dead? Cause if not, I'm gonna kill 'em," Clint moaned.

_**AV~AV~AV~AV**_

Klaw hadn't in fact been dead, but they had all racked up enough injuries that Steve decided he never wanted to deal with this guy again. Everyone except Stark had suffered damage to their ear drums, although Steve and Thor were recovering pretty quickly. It led to a lot of shouting around the tower, mostly to pass things around the kitchen or what movie they should watch. Pepper said it didn't bother her, having been used to the racket Tony made on a regular basis, but there was a solid week stretch when she would remove herself from the room whenever two or more Avengers entered it.

Tony for his part only suffered light burns on his arms and legs, although he had a few second degree burns on the back of his knees and elbows where the joints were thinnest. There were more sounds of crashing than usual coming from his lab, as a result of him only using his unburned hand and Dummy's assistance to repair the suit. Steve wasn't sure how to feel about robots having the intelligence to get berated by their makers, but Dummy always seemed to bounce back, clicking and whirring at Tony lovingly. The inventor, for his part, would just huff, mumble something under his breath, and they would carry on together.

Klaw had been extradited to Wakanda. Fury decided he didn't want to deal with him when they had aliens and mutants running around, and apparently he trusted the King of Wakanda enough to dish out the appropriate justice. Steve had not been sorry to see him go.

And as for the shield? Remarkably it had come out of the whole ordeal unscathed. Or perhaps not so remarkably.

Steve sat with it on his lap, running his hands over the spots that had been marked by bullet grazes, chitauri lasers, and countless other assaults. Always the shield ultimately came out unscathed. It was something he had faith in. Something he had to have faith in. That no matter what happened to him, someone would always be there to take up the shield and defend.


End file.
